EU businesses enjoy fresh investment opportunities in Vietnam

Those in attendance at the seminar were Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Tao Thi Thanh Huong, EU-ASEAN Business Council Executive Director Chris Humphrey, and EuroCham President Nicolas Audier. They were joined by speakers from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, relevant agencies, business associations, and over 100 EU business representatives.

During her opening speech, Ambassador Huong shared some the nation’s economic achievements over the past decade, such as recording an annual high GDP growth of approximately 7%, low inflation, and a rapidly improving sustainable development index. In addition to an index that evaluates the reliability of the banking system improving from "stable" to "positive", and a reduction of the poverty rate.

Furthermore, the Vietnamese Ambassador also emphasised the growing economic relationship between the nation and the EU, with bilateral trade in 2019 reaching a figure of US$54.6 billion. At present, the EU is the fifth largest investor in the country, with a total value of US$24.67 billion across more than 2,200 projects.

Due to its recent implementation, the EVFTA is expected to bring about a range of great opportunities for trade promotion between both sides, the Vietnamese diplomat said. Indeed, EU firms will be able to enjoy more favourable business conditions in the nation as the trade deal will serve as an ideal gateway for them to penetrate into the Southeast Asian market of 655 million people.

Moreover, the conference is seen as an opportunity for EU multinational groups based in Singapore to gain a deeper insight into the current Vietnamese market and to take full advantage of the array of opportunities on offer following the enforcement of the EVFTA.

At the event participants were given a platform to discuss the current Vietnamese business situation with the EU business community, along with telling them about the local investment environment, updated trade policies, and preparations taken to make full use of the EVFTA.

The seminar saw a number of topics of interest for EU businesses raised, such as digital economy and e-commerce, technology solutions to production, and access to the Vietnamese market for EU investors and firms.

Each of the speakers present answered questions from EU businesses and gave advice to enterprises on how to help them better understand the Vietnamese market, trade and investment policy mechanisms, and recent plans for EVFTA enforcement.

The event was co-organised by the Vietnam Embassy and Trade Office in Singapore, the EU-ASEAN Business Council, the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce, and the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam.